Eaa Witness Steel or Tristar P-120

[azlester]

OK lets see what answers I get on this one... I am considering getting 1 of the following...
The EAA Witness Steel or the Tristar P-120
Which one is better and why is it better?
Thanks

[legionofdoon]

I'd go with the witness steel, you can swap out the barrels and slides if you get the large frame. I have the P100  and the witness steel. The P100 is my EDC and I do shoot it more. Quality wise they are the same.

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[legionofdoon]

PS the TriStar Mags are easier to find.

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[DF_Hammack]

OK. I have nothing to say about the Witness. I am not familiar with it. I had an original TZ-75/88 almost 30 years ago, and it is the only gun I have ever owned that I regretted getting rid of. That was 30 years ago, and word is there have been significant improvements since. That said, I presently have a P-100. It is an excellent shooter, well finished and super accurate. I have had it about 3 months and run 4 or 5 boxes of ammo through it with absolutely no stutters. It is a fine gun, I bought it for EDC and don't believe I could have made a better decision. I actually bought the P-100 because I wanted another steel CZ pattern gun, and the Witness was a little pricey. My brother had bought a Canik Stingray a couple years ago and I have been suitably impressed with it. I was familiar with the quality and excellent performance of Canik firearms. I couldn't justify the price difference.

[jwc007]

Kind of like asking me which of my children do I favor..............Ha! 

Both are excellent handguns and either will serve you well! 

That said, I do tend to favor the Tanfoglio Pistols, as they have better out of the box triggers due to a better Passive Firing Pin Lock design, and a bushingless Barrel to Slide Lockup.
Built like a proverbial Tank, they are hard to wear out!  I've tried!
Also note that my personal preference is for the original Tanfoglio Small Frame, when it comes to the 9mm chambered versions.
Downside for the Tanfoglio Pistols has been that the Front Sight is molded into the Slide and not easily changed without Gunsmithing.

Upside for the TriStar Cz Clones has been a bit higher quality of machining and fit.  Aftermarket trigger parts support form CGW, if you care about such things. I don't.
Out of the box reliabilty is a bit higher for the TriStar Pistols, but not by much.

Either will deliver excellent accuracy, provided the shooter will do their part.

[recoilguy]

EAA Witness Steel, great trigger accurate to a fault, smooth shooting awesome handgun.
reliability with the witness has never been an issue with the ones I own and I have given them opportunity to be unreliable plenty of ti,es.

I have considered the tristar in the past but have never purchased one.I can not say good or bad about it but I can only say good about the witness.
I am very happy with mine.

RCG

[azlester]

Downside for the Tanfoglio Pistols has been that the Front Sight is molded into the Slide and not easily changed without Gunsmithing.

The front sight is molded on the slide on the steel Witness pistols?

[jwc007]

Downside for the Tanfoglio Pistols has been that the Front Sight is molded into the Slide and not easily changed without Gunsmithing.

The front sight is molded on the slide on the steel Witness pistols?

Yes! This has been the case since 1988/1989 model years.  Some of the higher end Witness Pistols may have a dovetailed Front Sight, but they are the only exception.

[azlester]

Downside for the Tanfoglio Pistols has been that the Front Sight is molded into the Slide and not easily changed without Gunsmithing.

The front sight is molded on the slide on the steel Witness pistols?

Yes! This has been the case since 1988/1989 model years.  Some of the higher end Witness Pistols may have a dovetailed Front Sight, but they are the only exception.

Well then that's is a deal breaker for me then... as I want to be able to put in a fiber front sight for my old eyes. Dang it. Guess I am going to go with the P-120 then.

[StevenJ61]

For the standard models the front site is milled into the slide on the Tanfoglio. All new model Tanfoglios with some exception are large frame, about the same frame size as a CZ97. The 9mm magazines for them are proprietary and not compatible with 'small frame' CZ75 magazines. Buds Gun shop has the small frame steel full size Tanfoglio Witness for $330 something like that. Other than that they are all large frame sized. There are advantages to the Tanfoglio design. I love the way the slide breaks down. Instead of using a roll pin to retain the firing pin block there is a a firing pin plate that just slides out after you depress the firing pin making detail stripping the slide easy. Also the firing pin block works in reverse. When it is depressed it blocks the firing pin from breaching the bolt face, when there is no pressure the firing pin can break the bolt face. This may not seem like a big deal but the sear on the Witness guns lack a firing pin lifter and firing pin lifter spring that real CZ75 guns have. Instead the sear is designed to depress the firing pin block naturally when the trigger hasn't been pulled to the point to release the sear. Also, at least on both my CZ75 modeled pistols one steel frame compact and one a Rami, there is no slight double action in the single action pull on the Witness. Take a good look at a CZ75 in single actions, when you pull the trigger the hammer moves with it about 1/16th of an inch or so before it falls which causes creep. This is not so on the Tanfoglio. When you pull the trigger in single action it drops the hammer cleanly, no additional cocking needed.

I do not have experience with Canik/ Tristar clones I only speak from owning CZUBs 75s and one Tanfoglio Witness. I will say this, personally I wouldn't get the Witness in 9mm or 40 SW as the gun is really over built for those calibers and I would rather have a smaller frame gun using CZ 75 standard magazines. However if you want 38 super, 10mm auto, or 45 acp I would get the Witness and buy a heavier recoil spring then call it a day. I bought a steel framed compact of the large frame variety in 9mm and was a bit disappointed in the 9mm proprietary magazine design. They are far longer than they need to be and can be prone to nose diving because of it since the frame must accommodate 45 acp as well. I converted it to 10mm and I am much happier with it. The gun is more reliable, less feeding issues, rounds are easier to load because they take the full length of the magazine, etc. Also forgot to mention the Wonder finish is very good and wears well and is exceptionally tough. It's leaps and bounds better than the baked on poly coat. I would be careful however about having a wonder finished slide in 10mm as they tend to be a bit brittle. I have not seen it happen but I have heard stories of the 10mm wonder finished slide cracking on the rounded versions. I have a rounded black poly coated slide for my 10mm and at 200 rounds I see zero cracks but I am watching it. I also have a 20 pound recoil spring in the gun.

[cstellabott]

I have both , the steel witness feels more like a 75b and the P120 feels more like an SP01, it's an alloy frame, but a bigger gun, so the weight is comparable. Both are great. Both take 75b mags. Very close in price. I can't tell you which I'd give up first..just get both


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[SirPaulGerman]

Kind of like asking me which of my children do I favor..............Ha! 

Both are excellent handguns and either will serve you well! 

That said, I do tend to favor the Tanfoglio Pistols, as they have better out of the box triggers due to a better Passive Firing Pin Lock design, and a bushingless Barrel to Slide Lockup.
Built like a proverbial Tank, they are hard to wear out!  I've tried!
Also note that my personal preference is for the original Tanfoglio Small Frame, when it comes to the 9mm chambered versions.
Downside for the Tanfoglio Pistols has been that the Front Sight is molded into the Slide and not easily changed without Gunsmithing.

Upside for the TriStar Cz Clones has been a bit higher quality of machining and fit.  Aftermarket trigger parts support form CGW, if you care about such things. I don't.
Out of the box reliabilty is a bit higher for the TriStar Pistols, but not by much.

Either will deliver excellent accuracy, provided the shooter will do their part.

Do you really think that the TriStar Cz Clones has been a bit higher quality of machining and fit than the Tanfoglio ? what about the finish ? what about the quality of the steel ?

[jwc007]

Do you really think that the TriStar Cz Clones has been a bit higher quality of machining and fit than the Tanfoglio ?

Yes!  The difference is very slight, but it is there.

what about the finish ?

Both lines are very well finished, but I believe that the Wonder and Black Parkerize Finishes that Tanfoglio uses are more durable than the CeraKote Finishes that Canik applies to the TriStar line.

what about the quality of the steel ?

I believe that the Turkish Steel Canik uses is of a bit higher quality, particularly the Barrel Steel.

Now, all that said, I do prefer the Martin Tuma designed Automatic Firing Pin Safety design present in the Tanfoglio Pistols and the Tanfoglio Bushingless Barrel Lockup.
Both lines have features that differentiate them much from each other.  As to whether or not they really make a big difference is controversial at best.

In the end, it is not so much what you have.  It is what you do with it, that counts! 

[win308]

JWC007..........Aren't the Tanfoglio barrels hammer forged in Germany??

[jwc007]

JWC007..........Aren't the Tanfoglio barrels hammer forged in Germany??

Standard Model Pistols, No.  Match and higher grade Pistols, Yes.